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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27464140">The Boy Who Talked To Turtle Ducks</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/piandaoist/pseuds/Piandaoist'>Piandaoist (piandaoist)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Family Feels, Friendship, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Loss, Teacher-Student Relationship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 01:48:54</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,660</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27464140</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/piandaoist/pseuds/Piandaoist</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When Zuko came to Piandao, it was clear what Zuko needed, and it wasn’t a swordmaster.  #atla15 prompt | Family</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Piandao &amp; Zuko (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>194</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>#atla15 -- Avatar the Last Airbender 15th Anniversary Prompt Challenge, Piandaoist's Comfort Fic, Piandaoist's Short Stories Collection, The Piandao Library</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Boy Who Talked To Turtle Ducks</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p><a href="https://atlafans.tumblr.com/post/190938611989/caelum-in-the-avatarverse-february-21-2020">Prompt Challenge</a>: <a href="https://www.tumblr.com/search/atla15">#atla15</a> | Family <a href="https://tmblr.co/mnuJxs3q96ZkLxemOzj5bqQ">@atlafans</a></p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Piandao was a towering giant to Zuko who had a reputation for scaring grown men, and he was publicly hated by Firelord Azulon.  But Azulon was dead and Zuko was here, in Piandao’s drawing room, on bended knee.</p><p>Zuko arrived with no fanfare, accompanied by his attendant, Li.  Or was this the other sister, Lo?  Piandao thought identical twins should be required to wear name tags.</p><p>Ozai’s completely unhelpful letter read “Make Prince Zuko war-ready.”  Piandao had very different ideas about training children than most everyone else in the Fire Nation.  His main idea was that you just don’t train children for war.  There were no exceptions to this rule.</p><p>Piandao could’ve taken the moral high ground and refused to train Zuko because he was a child.  But then what of Zuko’s fate?  And who better to train Zuko to survive the war than Piandao, arguably one of the greatest soldiers in the history of their nation’s long and bloody conflict?  How did refusal help Zuko?  Was Zuko to return home with a rejection from Piandao, parroting whatever speech Piandao could think of back to his father?  Would Ozai understand why Piandao had problems weaponizing an eleven-year-old?  (Doubtful!)  Would he have cared?  Or would he assume, without even listening to Zuko, that Zuko was untrainable?</p><p>Maybe that’s why Zuko was so terrified.  Maybe this was some kind of test that Zuko needed to pass.  Or maybe Ozai had an ulterior motive for sending Zuko there.  Whatever the reason, Piandao had to see Zuko’s training through to find out what Ozai’s endgame was.</p><p>From the first moment Zuko arrived, it became clear that he was a desperate kid who would do anything to please his masters.  He was as wound-up at the age of eleven as Piandao had been and Piandao had been sold into slavery by the orphan master.  Zuko’s life must have been a living nightmare.</p><p>Piandao remembered what it felt like when one understood that if you didn’t “perform” you were “useless”.  Theirs was a world where failure meant ridicule, neglect, even abandonment; a world that measured a child’s worth based on their skills rather than the content of their character.</p><p>Even as Piandao promised to work with Zuko to ensure his success, and he watched Zuko’s smile blossom, he knew there would be no way to guarantee Zuko’s success to Ozai’s satisfaction.  For the first time in many years, Piandao felt real terror, the kind of terror that came from knowing someone else’s fate was in his hands.</p><p>As the days turned into weeks, Piandao saw much potential in Zuko.  He was quite a brilliant swordsman who would very quickly surpass Piandao if he put his mind to it.  Once Piandao put the practice sword in Zuko’s hands, he saw how Zuko’s whole body came alive as he connected with it.  Zuko had already internalized making the blade an extension of your own arm.  And, as it turned out, Zuko was also a gifted athlete with exceptional parkour skills who spent his afternoons running across walls to outpace Fat during their sparring matches.</p><p>It had occurred to Piandao, on several occasions, that he might’ve been training his future assassin.  He pushed that thought to somewhere in the back of his mind.  There was something about Zuko that told Piandao he’d never have that killer instinct.  Maybe that was Ozai’s problem.  Maybe Ozai thought Piandao could turn Zuko into a killer.</p><p>Piandao understood that anger was a biological button that was best left unpushed.  But there always seemed to be a trigger inside of Zuko that activated it.  When Zuko split his wooden training sword with fire, Piandao knew it was time for Zuko to take a break.  He watched Zuko’s face burn red as rage welled up in him like a deepwater current at the suggestion that he should “get some rest.”  That boy was a powder keg.</p><p>It wouldn’t have been difficult to turn Zuko’s anger into hatred.  Angry people were malleable, easily manipulated, easily radicalized, and there was something to be said for turning your former enemy’s grandchild against his own family.  That was the plot of one of Piandao’s favorite books.  But this wasn’t fiction, it was reality, and Zuko was the boy who talked to turtle ducks and sang sweet songs when he thought Piandao wasn’t listening.</p><p>Zuko practiced sword forms in front of a mirror while saying things like “Here, hold my scabbard!” before running around the room waving his training sword around wildly.  He had an entire list of cool things he’d say with each move, most of which were just really bad puns.  Piandao loved really bad puns.</p><p>Zuko’s personality was infectious.  Piandao wanted to make him happy because, when he was happy, he was overflowing with kindness and grace.  He had the kind of laugh that could trigger laughter from others.  But when Zuko was angry, his fury rippled like a shockwave through everyone around him.  Even Fat was crankier than usual during training.</p><p>Zuko was homesick, often asking if there was mail from his father or Azula or his friends Mai and Ty Lee.  “Has anyone heard anything about my mom?” he often asked in a small shaky voice that tore Piandao up inside.  “What about my uncle?  What will happen to him if he's captured by the Earth Kingdom?”</p><p>Piandao felt the tightness in his chest and churning in the pit of his stomach when he remembered what it felt like when you thought you’d never see the people you cared about again.  What did Piandao want when he was that frightened boy sobbing alone in the uncaring dark of night?</p><p>Piandao filled the night-time void with pai sho, a game Zuko loved to play because it reminded him of Iroh.  Or he’d take Zuko up into the observatory so he could peer at the stars through the telescope.  Sometimes, Zuko just had questions and Piandao was almost always happy to answer them.</p><p>
  <em> Almost. </em>
</p><p>Whenever Zuko asked uncomfortable questions about Piandao’s childhood, Piandao responded with something like “That didn’t end well”.  But these strolls down memory lane stirred feelings in Piandao like an emotional typhoon with winds that chipped away at his core.  He remembered the events of his childhood but he’d pushed the emotions of them back into the faraway recesses of his mind years ago.  But this tidal surge of emotions brought back the nightmares and a profound feeling of dread.</p><p>No one was getting any sleep.  When Piandao left his bedroom, he found Zuko sitting by the door of his room with his knees curled up to his chin.</p><p>“Prince Zuko…  You should be in bed.  You need to rest.”</p><p>“Sorry if I woke you up,” Zuko said.</p><p>“You didn’t.  I'm having trouble sleeping, too.  Wanna talk about it?”</p><p>“It doesn’t matter.”</p><p>“It matters to me,” Piandao said, offering Zuko a gentle smile.</p><p>Zuko looked up at him with wide, tear-filled eyes.  “My dad said if Uncle tries to enter the Fire Nation, he’ll be sorry.  Li told me he didn’t mean anything by it.”  Zuko took in a deep breath as he collected his thoughts.  “I know she was just trying to make me feel better.  But he got rid of all the people in the palace he thought would be loyal to my uncle.  There’s no Court and the palace is almost completely empty.  And mom’s gone…  General Guiying said the Police Service is looking for her and that I shouldn’t give up hope.  And my cousin is dead and I’m never gonna see Uncle again.  Half my family’s gone.”</p><p>Zuko wiped the tears away with the sleeve of his robe.</p><p>Piandao didn’t know what to say.  For the first time since his arrival, Zuko was talking--really talking.</p><p>Ursa was the last person to touch Zuko, to try to connect with him.  Zuko didn’t realize how touch-starved he was until Piandao put his arm around Zuko and he felt a comforting warmth radiate through him.  It was only when Zuko leaned into Piandao’s side that he was finally able to fall asleep.</p><p>Zuko may have been helpless in that moment but Piandao wasn’t.  As he watched Zuko sleep, it became obvious what needed to be done.</p><p>The next morning, Li entered the drawing room.  They’d only spoken briefly upon Zuko’s arrival.  She didn’t interfere with Zuko’s training so Piandao saw no reason to bother her.</p><p>“Master Li…  Good morning.”</p><p>The old woman bowed.  “Good morning.”</p><p>“You haven’t said anything so I trust your accommodations are satisfactory?”</p><p>“Yes,” she said.  “Your butler is very efficient and responsive and my suite is more than adequate.”</p><p>“Glad to hear it,” he said, offering her a polite smile.  “I have to leave immediately to attend to some pressing business in the Earth Kingdom.  Fat will continue to address your needs.  Zuko doesn’t have any homework per se.  He should just relax and enjoy what amenities I have to offer.  He seems like he could use a vacation, to be honest.”</p><p>“Agreed,” she said.  “It would be nice if he could enjoy himself from time to time.”</p><p>“Well, he has access to everything on the first three floors and the observatory.  It’s not exactly a party house but the library has a wide selection of books.  Or he could paint or draw or work puzzles.  Fat said he’d play pai sho if Zuko wanted.  Zuko seems to really enjoy the game.”</p><p>“It’s his uncle’s favorite game,” Li said.</p><p>Piandao chuckled.  “Yes, I know.  Zuko talked my ear off about it the first time we played.”</p><p>“I’ll occupy him,” she said.  “He’s my responsibility.”</p><p>“I’ll be on my eel hound.  I should be back soon.  But--and this is very important, Master LI--There’s a letter for Firelord Ozai.  If I’m not back in five days, take Prince Zuko home.  Make sure you get the letter from Fat.  It details Prince Zuko’s training thus far as well as the reason for his sudden return home.  There’s also an invitation for Prince Zuko to return to continue his training at a later date.”</p><p>Li nodded her understanding and Piandao nodded back before heading out.</p><p>---</p><p> </p><p>Only three people knew where Iroh was: Piandao, Jeong Jeong, and this old man named Pathik who lived alone at the Eastern Air Temple.  How Piandao hated keeping that information from Zuko.</p><p>To say Iroh was a mess was putting it mildly.  It looked like he’d given up on everything, including bathing.</p><p>“What has happened?” Jeong Jeong asked with deep concern as he approached Piandao’s position.</p><p>Piandao’s brain stuttered for a moment; every part of him went on pause while his thoughts caught up.</p><p>“He’s aged…” Piandao whispered, watching as Iroh stared into the distance.  “His hair is white.”</p><p>“He lost his son, Piandao.  What did you expect?”</p><p>“I’m… just... shocked.  I need to speak to him.  It’s about Prince Zuko.”</p><p>“Good luck,” Jeong Jeong said.  “He hasn’t spoken since I found him wandering around the forest a few miles outside of Ba Sing Se’s Outer Wall.  He won’t even drink tea.  The grief has taken hold of him.  It’s his master now and there’s nothing I or Guru Pathik can do for him.”</p><p>Piandao took a seat across from Iroh at the firepit.  Iroh looked up, acknowledging Piandao. before turning his attention to his flames.  His eyes looked brown, not golden, in the dim firelight.  It was as if the fire inside of him died with Lu Ten.</p><p>Jeong Jeong shrugged when Piandao looked back at him.</p><p>“Zuko is at my home with Fat and Master Li.”</p><p>He waited for Iroh to respond.  Nothing.</p><p>“Ozai sent him to train with me.  Zuko constantly asks about you.  What should I tell him?”</p><p>Iroh poked the flames with a stick before throwing it into the fire.</p><p>“He hasn’t said as much but I think he knows Ozai killed Azulon.  And, honestly?  He’s gotta be thinking “If Dad did that to his father, what will he do to me?”  His mother’s missing, probably dead.  He’s afraid…  Alone…  And I can’t answer any of his questions.  I just don’t have those answers, Iroh.  I can’t talk to people the way you can.”</p><p>Iroh’s vacant stare told Piandao he was a million miles away.  Was he even listening?  Could he even hear Piandao?  Or was the pain of heartache such a terrible distraction that it devoured all of Iroh’s attention?</p><p>“You’ve lost Lu Ten and I’m sorry for that, Iroh.  But Zuko lost Lu Ten, too.  That was his cousin, and he misses him.  And he misses you.”</p><p>When Piandao reached out to touch Iroh, he felt the trembling weakness of Iroh’s fingers as Iroh tried to grab onto Piandoa’s hand to make the connection.  And Piandao knew, by the coldness of his touch, that Iroh’s fire was dying along with his passion for life.</p><p>That’s when Piandao realized Iroh couldn’t say anything.  He’d been there.  Piandao understood what it felt like when you were incapable of thinking straight, of moving forward, of doing...<em>anything</em>.  But that didn’t help Zuko.</p><p>“Okay, Iroh,” he said, placing his hand on Iroh’s shoulder to make a connection that might’ve brought Iroh back to reality if only for a moment.  “I’ll take care of Zuko for as long as I can.  You take care of yourself.”</p><p>Piandao turned to Jeong Jeong.  “Take care of him.  Let me know if he needs anything.”</p><p>He left the temple more uncertain and more hungry for answers than when he’d arrived.  It was time for his backup plan.</p><p>It was the middle of the night in Caldera City when Ozai awoke to find a shadowy figure sitting in one of the oversized chairs at the foot of his bed.</p><p>“Guards!”  He scrambled to his feet.</p><p>“Your guards have been neutralized.”</p><p>Ozai’s fire erupted, bathing the room in yellows and reds, revealing an expressionless and thoroughly unimpressed Piandao.</p><p>“What do you want?”</p><p>“A favor.”</p><p>Ozai was incredulous.  “A favor?  Really?  After you killed my guards?”</p><p>“No one’s been killed.  They’re unconscious.  Oh, and before you get any bright ideas, look out the window.”</p><p>From across the courtyard, Ozai saw archers with their flaming arrows trained on him, and more were lining the roofs of the tall buildings that surrounded the palatial estate.</p><p>Ozai stood in front of the floor to ceiling window for a brief moment, grimacing when one of his would-be assassins waved at him from his courtyard.  He slammed the heavy red curtains shut, turned, taking a seat at the foot of his bed.</p><p>“Well?  You have my attention.  Speak!”</p><p>“Allow Iroh to return home.  No, Ask him to return home.  Extend an olive branch to him.  Bring him back into the fold.”</p><p>“Why do you care if my brother comes home?”</p><p>“I care because Zuko cares,” Piandao said.  “And I think it would be good for Zuko’s overall wellbeing if Iroh was allowed to return home so Zuko could share his life with him.  Good morale breeds a good soldier.”  Piandao felt sick just saying it like that but the language of war was all that people like Ozai understood.</p><p>“You’ve only been training Zuko for a month.  You don’t know what his needs are.”</p><p>By the twitching of Ozai’s left eye, he gathered that Ozai was incensed.  Piandao expected such an irrational reaction from him.  His intel suggested that Ozai’s door fell off its hinges years ago.  But, as the kids often said, Piandao wasn’t shook.</p><p>“Neither do you, apparently,” Piandao responded in that annoying even tone that had a way of crawling beneath the skin.  “If you did, you would understand how important family is to Zuko.  I know it because he talks about all of you constantly.  His capacity to love is...remarkable, and I’m proud to have him as my student.”</p><p>“And yet, here you are, threatening a member of his family,” Ozai growled.</p><p>“Oh…  I’m sorry.  I must apologize for the misunderstanding.  Those archers out there...  I have no idea who those people work for.  When I went to see an associate here in the city, they told me there was “a proposed action”.  Their words, not mine.  They would be moving against you and I should leave the city soon or I could join them, but that I should definitely not get in their way.  I didn’t like either of those choices because neither of them helps Zuko.  I mean, it doesn’t help Zuko if you’re killed so soon after he’s lost half his family.  So I proposed a new action, one that I think satisfies everyone’s needs.”</p><p>Ozai nodded.  “Very well.  Propose your action.”</p><p>“Before I continue, I must preface this by saying that Iroh is extremely popular with the commoners.  People relate to him.  There isn’t a person in the Fire Nation who hasn’t lost someone they love to the war.  Can you at least understand that?”</p><p>“Yes, but--”</p><p>“Nope, moving on because you don’t have time for this.  This next part is very important.  Everybody--everybody--knows you killed Azulon and that you are a usurper.  Nobody believes that Azulon would ever will his power to you in some kind of half-assed last minute deathbed...whatever rather than let it pass naturally to Iroh.  But no one can prove it.  And if they could, the split that already exists between your supporters and Iroh’s would only become a great chasm.  The Fire Nation can’t fight an imperial war and a civil war.  Firelord Baichi started the Clan Wars when he tried to play the nobles against one another.  He was issued a vote of no confidence by the Sage Council, removed from power, and he was killed for his failure to maintain order.  Your family nearly lost its birthright over the matter.”</p><p>Ozai sneered.  “I don’t need you to explain my own family’s history to me, <b> <em>Piandao</em> </b>.”</p><p>I just want to make sure you understand what’s at stake if you screw this up, <b> <em>Ozai</em> </b>.  You don’t want to be That Guy who was a suspected usurper who also sparked civil unrest because he couldn’t play nice with his own grieving brother.  You really wanna give General Guiying a reason to call the Sage Council for a No Confidence vote against you?  Because you and I both know she’ll do it and, like Iroh, she is very popular with The People.  You?  Not so much.”</p><p>Ozai was stone-faced, bordering on disinterested.  It was no surprise to Piandao that he felt nothing toward the idea that people didn't like him.  People like Ozai often failed to grasp how important the adoration of people could benefit their reign.</p><p>“Absolving Iroh of his crimes sends the message that his weakness should be embraced.  He is a deserter and a traitor just like you.”</p><p>Piandao shrugged.  “It’s fine by me if you wanna handle Iroh the way Azulon handled me and Jeong Jeong.  How’d that work out for him?  Because last I checked, he got killed by his own kid because he was too distracted with us to watch what was happening in his own palace.  Meanwhile, Jeong Jeong and I do whatever we want with absolute impunity.”</p><p>“And if Iroh doesn’t return home?  Then what?”</p><p>“If you send him a genuine offer and he doesn’t accept it, that’s on him, not you.  However, as long as Iroh is branded a traitor, he’s cut off from the Fire Nation which means he’s cut off from Prince Zuko.  But, if you forgive his failings and allow him to return home, even if he chooses to stay overseas, Prince Zuko can still send him letters.  You could make some big speech about how important your family is.  Maybe you’d look a lot less guilty over Azulon’s assassination if you invited your brother home.  Plus, if you invite Iroh home, you pretty much inoculate yourself from his supporters.  If Iroh returns home but doesn’t challenge your ascension--he won’t--they’ll see that even he thinks you're the Fire Nation’s rightful ruler.”</p><p>“And why should I trust you?”</p><p>“You don’t have a choice,” Piandao said.  “Even if you were to escape this incursion, there would be others.  You pissed off a lot of people when you removed all of Azulon's and Iroh's supporters from their postings, kicked the nobles out of your Court, and completely overhauled the military’s entire command structure.  And now that all these people no longer have jobs, they have a lot of reasons to be angry with you, and they have a lot of free time to figure out what they want to do about it, and a lot of old money to make things happen.  If you take a few minutes to think logically about the situation, you’ll realize you don’t have the high ground.”</p><p>“And what’s in it for you, Piandao?”</p><p>“Nope.  No more questions.  You’re time’s up.  I’ll either walk out of here with a letter inviting Iroh to come home in the next two minutes, or I won’t and they’ll open fire on the palace.”</p><p>“And you’ll be in here with me when they attack,” Ozai said, grinning.</p><p>“I’ve gotten out of worse situations.  Can you honestly say the same, Ozai?  What about Princess Azula?  And you might as well wipe that grin off your face.  They cut off your escape routes."  Piandao held back a laugh as he watched Ozai's smile fade.  "I came into the city via the river that runs beneath it.  They let me pass to deliver my proposal but they had every exit blocked off.”</p><p>Ozai was silent but Piandao could see by the way he kept twisting his features that this was the first time he had given these matters any serious thought.</p><p>“You wanted to be the Firelord.  Well, be the Firelord.  It’s time for you to make your decision.”</p><p>---</p><p> </p><p>“Hold!” came a man’s voice when Piandao emerged through the palace’s front gate.</p><p>Piandao addressed the crowd as Ozai looked down onto the firing lines from a high balcony.</p><p>“Ozai has written a letter to his brother inviting him to return home.  He’s given assurances that he will allow some of the people he dismissed to return to their posts.”</p><p>“We want them all returned and for our honor to be restored,” a woman yelled from somewhere near the back of the group.</p><p>“And I told you that wouldn’t happen since those positions had already been filled.  If you can’t live with the compromise, go ahead and open fire on the palace, possibly killing Ozai, his nine-year-old daughter, and a bunch of innocent servants.  Seize control of the Capitol.  Create a power vacuum so General Guiying can declare martial law and bring the full might of the Police Service and the Domestic Gaurd down on all of you.  I’ve got mail to deliver.”</p><p>He left them in stunned silence as he made his way to his hound.  When he returned home the next morning, Zuko was sleeping on a chair next to the front door.</p><p>“Welcome back,” Li said, offering him a bow.  “He insisted on greeting you as soon as you returned.  I encouraged him to go to bed, but…  Well…  I work for him.”</p><p>Piandao smiled.  “He’s a good kid.  A sweet kid.”</p><p>Zuko sat up, wiping sleep from his eyes.  “Uh…  How is your friend, Master Piandao?  Li told me he was sick.”</p><p>“He’s struggling right now, but he’s surrounded by people who care about him.  And he just received a bit of news from home.  I think he’ll be okay.”</p><p>Zuko smiled.  “I’m glad.”</p><p>Over the next few days, Piandao received reports from the Capitol.  “Beautiful weather” one report read, indicating that everything in Caldera City was as it should be.  And then his Hawk, Hawkster, dropped a message in front of him that almost landed in his glass.</p><p>In the castle dungeon Piandao converted into an underground training arena, Zuko was practicing with a staff.</p><p>“Master Piandao!  Did you see how I caught the staff with my eyes closed?”</p><p>"I did," Piandao said, smiling.  "Very impressive.  Here, this is for you."</p><p>"What is it?"  Zuko's staff fell to the floor.  "A letter?"</p><p>“It’s addressed to me,” Piandao started, holding a letter out.  “But it’s written to you.”</p><p>Zuko recognized the writing.  It was from his uncle.  He poured over every character, his smile growing so big Piandao thought it must have hurt his face.</p><p>“I have to pack!” he shouted, nearly knocking Piandao over as he rushed past him.</p><p>“Prince Zuko, wait!”</p><p>“I can’t.  Uncle’s coming home!”</p><p>Piandao sucked in a slow, deep breath then released it, letting a small celebratory smile spread across his face.  “Good job, Piandao,” he whispered, giving himself a thumbs-up.  “I can’t believe my dumbass plan actually worked.  Good thing the Fire Nation is on the brink of Civil War.”  Piandao paused, wincing.  "What the flame, Piandao," he muttered.  "What is wrong with you?"</p><p>Zuko slept like a baby that night.  But Piandao wasn’t getting any sleep.  He’d hoped Zuko would stay a little longer and continue to fill his home with laughter.  It was times like these, in the quiet dark of night, that Piandao remembered his own dreams of family and how he squandered the opportunity to have one, choosing ambition over love.  He was consumed with sadness whenever he had to let one of his students go.  They were his family.</p><p>In the early morning before sunrise, when the earth was still and dewy, Piandao found Li sitting on the patio steps, looking out across the lush landscape.</p><p>“Whatever you did to convince the Firelord to let Iroh return home,” she said, “Thank you.  You’ve done a tremendous service for Prince Zuko.”</p><p>“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Piandao said, offering her an unreadable glance.  “That being said, you’re welcome.”</p><p>Zuko left with the promise that he’d return and, this time, he would bring his uncle.</p><p>And that’s when the other shoe dropped.  Piandao knew why Zuko was sent there.  In his haste, Zuko dropped a few loose papers from his sketchbook while he was frantically packing.</p><p>“Recognize it?” Fat asked, holding up one of Zuko's drawings.</p><p>Piandao blinked in disbelief.  “This is the 4th Floor catwalk just above the panic rooms.  The only way he could get up there is if--  Fat, do you have any idea how many booby traps are up there?”</p><p>“No, Master.  But I’m betting he does.  And if his memory is as good as this drawing, so will Ozai.  I wonder what else he sketched.”</p><p>Piandao’s voice was distant.  “I don’t know…  He could have blueprinted the entire place.  He was constantly drawing when he wasn’t training.  I underestimated that one.”  Piandao, impressed, smiled.  It had been many years since someone had gotten close enough to him to deal real damage.  “Good for him.”</p><p>“The Firelord will be coming, Fat.  You should leave immediately.  Go spend some time with friends in town.”</p><p>“I have no intention of leaving you to fight the Firelord alone, Master.  We should set traps and then we should both leave.”</p><p>Piandao shook his head.  “No.  This was Zuko’s first mission.  It needs to be a success.  If I’m not here when Ozai arrives, he’ll know that Zuko’s mission was compromised and I’m not sure what Ozai will do to Zuko if that happens.”</p><p>An electric surge of energy sent through Piandao.  “I have the best plan ever, Fat!”  Fat groaned.  All of Piandao’s plans were insane.</p><p>Ozai met no resistance as he walked into the castle in the dead of a rain-soaked night a few weeks after Iroh’s homecoming.</p><p>“Hello,” Piandao said when he greeted Ozai and his handful of mercenaries in the great hall just outside his drawing room.  He sat in an ornate, hand-carved highback chair with his sword lying across his lap.  “You guys hungry?”</p><p>Lightning crackled, splitting the air around them.  Piandao was way too calm and Ozai wasn’t taking any chances.</p><p>This was exactly what Piandao wanted.</p><p>There was a loud boom as the lightning split from Ozai’s hands.  Then he felt a pain as if he had just set himself on fire.  His bloodcurdling scream rang out as mercenaries scattered like spider-roaches for cover when lightning shot out in all directions.  The smoke cleared as thunder rippled through the demolished corridor.</p><p>They scrambled to their feet, ready to defend themselves from whatever Piandao was while Piandao stared back at them.  Ozai lay in a shame pile of confusion and defeat at his feet.</p><p>“Still alive down there?” Piandao asked, leaning forward to inspect his handy work.  Ozai could barely blink back.</p><p>They raised their weapons.  Piandao still had an active bounty on his head and they cared more about it than they did about Ozai.  Piandao thought about using Ozai as a human shield but then he thought maybe he didn’t need to turn this engagement into a complete horror show.  He was, after all, working on himself.  Plus, Zuko loved Ozai.  Maybe Piandao should tell Ozai that Zuko was the reason Piandao let him live...</p><p>He dared them to throw everything they had at him.  “That worked out well for Ozai.”</p><p>Piandao wiped the drool from Ozai’s mouth.  “You should have brought in Special Ops, not hired a bunch of greedy mercenaries.  At least Spec Ops knows how to be quiet when they enter a building.  Mercenaries burst in like they’re crashing a party.  I could hear you guys whispering your attack plan from the other side of the door.  Spec Ops uses encoded sign language for a reason.  This is the kind of sloppy work I'd expect from an inexperienced tactician.  You should have consulted your brother before you came here.”</p><p>"Rude," one of the mercenaries complained, earning them a chuckle from Piandao.  Ozai couldn't speak but his venomous low growl said a lot.</p><p>A young woman sheathed her sword, stepping forward to look Ozai over.</p><p>“How?  He shot lightning at you!”</p><p>“It’s a little trick I picked up from the King of Omashu.  It’s a total mastery of neutral jing that allows me to focus the energy around me into an invisible impenetrable barrier.  If you attack it, it attacks back by using your own force against you.  I just have to sit back and watch my enemies destroy themselves.  Ozai’s lucky to be alive.”</p><p>PIandao nudged Ozai with his foot, causing Ozai to grumble something incoherent.  Whatever it was, it didn’t sound very nice.</p><p>“Take your big muscle dummy employer and get out of my castle before I forget three years of therapy and mental discipline and turn this place into a killing field.”</p><p>Piandao watched them drag Ozai out of the castle by his arms.  It was going to cost Ozai a small fortune to shut those mercs up about his humiliating defeat.</p><p>Fat strode up alongside him as he watched them shuffle off into the night.  “Later, Haters!” Piadao yelled, causing Fat to roll his eyes.</p><p>“Excellent work, Fat.  Your energybending is getting better.  I had no idea you could project a forcefield that far out from your body.”</p><p>“Neither did I,” Fat admitted, causing Piandao to balk.  “Ozai isn’t the only one who’s lucky to be alive tonight.”</p><p>“Heh...  Totally worth it,” Piandao said, smiling.  “He won’t be back.  He thinks I’m invincible.”</p><p>“Neither will Prince Zuko,” Fat said.</p><p>“Nope,” Piandao lamented after a long mournful sigh.  “Even good decisions have bad outcomes.”</p><p>---</p><p> </p><p>Five years passed before Piandao saw Zuko again in the most unlikely of places, an encampment outside of Ba Sing Se that King Bumi referred to as Old People Camp.</p><p>He entered Iroh’s tent to find Zuko sitting in the middle of the floor with his head in his hands.</p><p>“Iroh’s going to be asleep for a while, Prince Zuko.  You should get some rest.”</p><p>“No,” Zuko said.  “I wanna be here when he wakes up."</p><p>“By the way, I’ve been meaning to get this back to you.  Piandao pulled Zuko’s drawing out from inside his robe.</p><p>“What it is--oh…”  Zuko fell silent as the warmth of embarrassment washed over him, coloring his cheeks with red-hot shame.  He was mortified, frozen in his spot.  But Piandao was smiling down at him, alleviating some of Zuko’s fear but none of his guilt.</p><p>“How did you get past all the booby traps?”</p><p>That's what Piandao wanted to know?  Not "Why did you do it?" or "How could you betray my trust?" but "How did you get past all the booby traps?"  Judging by Piandao's demeanor, he wasn't upset by Zuko's betrayal as much as he was amused by it.</p><p>Zuko allowed himself to feel a small bit of joy.  If Iroh couldn’t forgive his betrayal, at least Piandao had.</p><p>"I used some of Azula’s tricks.  Plus, I was small.  It was easy to just squeeze past some of them without setting them off.  I nearly peed myself when this giant ax swooped down from the ceiling just inches in front of me.  It made a loud clicking sound as it released which is the only way I knew something was about to happen.”</p><p>“Well, I’m impressed,” Piandao praised.  “You’ve got a real knack for infiltration."</p><p>“I...wanted to tell you.  But--”</p><p>“It’s fine, Prince Zuko.  Your Firelord--your father gave you a mission.  You had no choice but to obey.  It wasn’t your fault you were conscripted at the age of eleven to spy on me.”</p><p>“I told Uncle what Ozai was planning as soon as he came home.  I was hoping he could talk my dad out of attacking you.  He told me not to worry.  He said you could handle yourself.  When I got your letter inviting me back for more training, I was so relieved.  But my father refused to let me return.”</p><p>“There’s nothing stopping you from returning for more training now.”  Piandao gave Zuko’s shoulder a firm squeeze.  “My door’s always open for family.”</p>
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